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Theme Of Christianity In Beowulf

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Theocracy has never been the best choice of government for any country. In the case of Europe from approximately 500AD to 1500AD, the government was theocratic, but it certainly was not Christianity, rather a poor imitation of the real thing, warped and twisted beyond recognition. As these three texts show, the doctrine is always changing, but what never changes is who has (or does not have) access to it.
Beowulf presents a unique view of Christianity that does not last long. To these northern regions, Christianity is relatively new, and it has a long way to go before it will overshadow hundreds of years of pagan myths and legends. The tendency of all people is to reconcile the new belief to their old one, thereby keeping the validity of both. …show more content…

The code of chivalry contains qualities specific to Christianity, and are displayed by Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in their game. Sir Gawain shows loyalty, and is “careful to be courteous and avoid uncouthness.” The Green Knight shows grace towards Sir Gawain who did not keep his promise and withheld the green girdle. This is the the sole story of the three that portrays grace as an empowering quality of a hero. By this point in Britannic history, Christianity has been around long enough that stories were no longer ‘stolen’ from pagan history, and unlike Beowulf, Sir Gawain’s characteristics are Christ-like. That being said, no society is perfect, and the magical abilities of the Green Knight show the last vestiges of pagan epics clinging on to the new “Christianized” …show more content…

Europe is at the height of its continental theocracy, and legalism has the church in its clutches. Christianity has been around long enough that the potential monetary gain in it has not gone unnoticed by some in the clergy. Corruption has spread through the church, lowering the reputation of its members to many such as Chaucer. He describes the pardoner as trying to “win silver from the crowd,” whereas the lowly plowman did “as the gospel bade him,” for he loved “God best with all his heart and mind.” And while there certainly were still clergy who followed the will of God, it was not uncommon to find those who for “just a quart of wine,” would allow “any good lad to keep a

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O’Toole argues while Catholicism created a unity throughout different parts of the Hapsburg Empire, it also created dissent from within. For example, displeased with what he saw as a corrupt and self-indulgent Catholic Church in the 1500s, a German monk named Martin Luther wrote his Ninety-Five Theses, which highlighted the indulgent practices by the Church. “Why does not the pope, whose wealth today is greater than the wealth of the richest Crassus, build the basilica of St. Peter with his own money rather than with the money of poor believers?” (Luther, Thesis 86).

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NAME INSTRUCTOR COURSE DATE The Five Knightly Virtues of Sir Gawain Sir Gawain and The Green Knight is the most known 14th century poem that depicts the Arthurian legend. It has been translated from a Middle English dialect by Simon Armitage; unfortunately, very little is known about the original author. Sir Gawain is the protagonist as he is the major source of conflict when he struggles to decide whether his “knightly virtues” are more important than his own life.

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The thing that stands out when reading the stories of Beowulf, Sir Gawain, and the Canterbury Tales is that the writers use Christianity to show conflicts in human nature. Also with these stories taking place in different times with writers who have different opinions about Christianity and how it has influences Society. For example, in Beowulf, the writer chooses to mash up the ideas of Christianity and paganism because during the time that the writer was transcribing the story there were missionaries trying to convert the Anglo-Saxons that lived in Britain, so the missionaries used Beowulf as a way to reach the pagans. This is also been done to other stories like in the Viking legend Thor god of thunder where at the end of the story the world

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During the Medieval times chivalry was one of the most important characteristics a knight could display. Chivalry was viewed as a moral obligation that involved bravery, honor, respect, and gallantry. Knights were expected to uphold this code or face social consequences for any infractions, with punishments ranging from humiliation to termination of their knighthood. “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” presents the struggles knights faced with honoring the chivalrous code at all times. Sir Gawain, while imperfect, exhibits qualities expected of knights and embodies the internal struggle between honoring the chivalrous code and giving into selfish desires.

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Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a late fourteenth century Arthurian Romance Poem. During the time of Sir Gawain, society was dominated by males with women receiving little power. Women were treated with chivalry, but not respected as beings of their own rights. Knights were prided in having the code of chivalry yet were under the assumption woman could not attain much for themselves.

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Relations Between Sir Gawain And The Green Knight And Christianity “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight” have a plethora of connections and relations to Christianity all around its story. Some examples could be Arthurian chivalry with the pentangle of Sir Gawain's shield and Mary's face in the middle, the battle between Sir Gawain and the Green Knight which took place inside the chapel of a church, and The Green Knight's decision toward Gawain in showing him mercy. These examples show only few reasons why “Sir Gawain And The Green Knight” have connections and relations towards Christianity. The ideals of Christianity and chivalry are brought together in Gawain’s symbolic shield.

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In Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, religion and hell are referenced to many times throughout the story. “Because the poet 's obvious references to religious matters are infrequent and elementary, he would-appear to have had a slight grasp of Christianity as we understand it, unless he disguised his erudition with characteristic Anglo-Saxon understatement (Whallon).” Chapter two of Beowulf “is most interesting when it collects the familiar evidence for Christian education in the early Anglo-Saxon (Parker)” era. When he speaks of the arrows of the devil in lines 1743 through 1744, “Grown too distracted. A killer stalks him, An archer who draws a deadly bow,” “one may therefore look to a passage in Ephesians, observe that the image was common

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Christianity is one of the most prominent theological affiliations, accounting for over one-third of global religion. Due to its widespread popularity, it is difficult to think back to a time in which this was not the case. However, when the story of Beowulf was first told, the prominent theological beings were Norse gods such as Thor, Odin and Frigg. These gods controlled different natural processes (such as thunder, wind and rain). The story of Beowulf was passed on through word-of-mouth until a monk, or someone who had somehow gained literacy, documented it.

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Literary Analysis of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight The selection of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight follows the basic format of the adventure. The author emphasizes communion to show the loyalty and community between King Arthur and his knights. The symbolism behind the relationship between Sir Gawain to humans and the Green Knight to the merciful God further shows the relations of this medieval romance to the Bible.

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Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, whose author is unknown, is an Arthurian Romance/Epic that holds a degree of Christian symbolism. These Christian symbols are intermixed with Britannic Pagan traditions and themes in order to appeal more to the common British people at the time of the early Christianization of Britain. This can be supported by the stories of kings being created in the earlier centuries throughout history. In this particular story, this symbolism is important since all the knights of King Arthur’s Court were supposed to follow a certain chivalrous code of conduct, whether present in the courts or away on some other venture. The chivalric code being the embodiment of Christian virtue and valor, which was expected to be personified

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Based on my findings, I can hypotheses that the Anglo Saxons and the people of the Middle Ages hoped for protection by their royalty, feared the unknown, valued the code of chivalry, and had a hard everyday life. “Beowulf” introduced the idea of the Anglo Saxons hope for protection as the hero of the story be the King of the Geats, and the people of the time, hoped their king would protect them just as Beowulf did. “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” introduced the value of the code of chivalry and a hard everyday life when Sir Gawain took King Arthur's place to play the Green Knight’s game, along with no other knight for the fear of the unknown giant, and then later told Sir Gawain’s daily work at the King’s home. Based on my findings, I can

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Given all these things, it is apparent that according to Beowulf, God is the one who is ultimately in control of everything. To start, right from birth, your destiny is decided by God. Take for example the Great Shield Shiefson. He was the most legendary of all the Danes

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If someone has too much power, can that lead to that person becoming corrupt?. During the middle ages the church was corrupt and many church officials abused their power in order to steal money from the peasants. The Pardoner uses his speaking skills and church position to steal money from the poor peasants who don't know any better. Chaucer depicts the corruption among the Clergy during the Middle Ages through the Pardoner's tale. Chaucer also depicts how the Pardoner's appearance is a reflection of him.

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Juxtaposition of Pagan and Christian Beliefs In Beowulf, the unknown author uses the juxtaposition of Christian and Pagan beliefs and ideals to convey the idea that accommodating two belief systems is difficult and unlawful. Throughout the epic poem the mix of Christian and Pagan beliefs in the Anglo-Saxon society coexist. The characters throughout the poem acknowledge Gods presence, but they drift back to pagan cultural values, which cause complications for the characters throughout the book. Throughout the entire epic poem of “Beowulf” the juxtaposition of pagan and Christian beliefs is evident and causes inner tension and problems to arise.

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The fourteenth century was around the time Europe transitioned from Paganism to Christianity. Early Christians still had small aspects of Pagan belief in their daily life such as deities, worship, and superstitions (McGuire 1). Christianity also took longer to spread throughout the rural areas of Europe. Pagus means “country district” and is sometimes used to refer to an uneducated, illiterate, rural citizen. Pagan never referred to non-Christians until the urban people converted to Christianity and the country people did not.

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